Ribbon feeding and inking mechanism for typing machines



May 24, 1949 G. E. PELTON RIBBON FEEDING AND INKING- MECHANISM -FORTYPING MACHINES Filed NOV. 12, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

G. E. PELTON RIBBON FEEDING AND INKING MECHANISM FOR TYPING MACHINES I 3Sheets-Sheet 2 May 24, 1949,

May 24, 1949.

= a. E. RIBBON FEEDING AND INKING MECHANISM FOR TYPING MACHINES FiledNov. 12, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 5a "g 2-1: if

gllglllllllllllllllllllllllllfiili g 74 Z '2 7 6 .16. Min I v0.15 mm. IINVENTOR.

PELTON 2,471,238..

Patented May 24, 1949 RIBBON FEEDING AND INKING:MECHANISM! FOR TYPINGMACHINES".

George ErnestPelton, Middleburg, Va ,assignor.

to Ida S. Pelton, Round Hill, Va.

Application November 12, 19.46; Serial .No. 709,377

29 Claims. 1.

This invention relates to improvements in typing machines, andparticularly to teletype machines, invoicing machines, machines.

The principal object of the invention is to provide improved inkingmachanisms andspooling. mechanisms for typing machines.

Another object of the invention istoprovide an improved driving meanswhich is operative during the typing operation to rotate independentlyand in a positive manner both a ribbon inking mechanism and a spool uponwhich the ribbon is being wound.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved drivingmechanisms for the ribbon spools which may be selectively disengaged topermit the spools to rotate freely during the unwinding of the ribbontherefrom in order substantially to reduce the frictional drag upon thetyping mechanism.

Another object is to provide a nonabsorbent Writing ribbon which cannotact as an ink reservoir and is more wear resistant than prior artribbons.

One object is to provide an inking mechanism which uses a ball'forfeeding a thin pigment ink to a non-ink-absorbent ribbon.

Another object is to provide two ink mixing means, one in the reservoirfor ink and one in the housing near the reservoir.

Another object of prime importance is to provide anon-ink-absorbent.ribbon, which may be 288 yards long, utilizing largehorizontally. mounted spools; the ribbon being thinner than andbookkeeping prior art ribbons, three-yards occupying no more space inthe spool, than one yard of ordinary;

standard, cotton typing machine ribbon.

Another object is to get away. from the poor.

writing results secured from twelveyard cotton or silk ribbons which aremedium or heavily inked.

and which are ink-absorbent, the writing ;appear.-.

ance changingalmostfrom day to C1ay.-a11d-s0.on-

becoming dim.

Another object is to provide new larger. spools mounted in a new,improved manner and much longer ribbon and still maintain very light:typebar action, action of the keys, and, light movement for the returnof the carriage in hand- Another object is to provide large spools whichmay be mounted. in. pr sent p g, machines; simply as attachments, withimproved inking units. of; smalrsize, thereby-making it possible;at'much less cost to have anink fountaintype writer. which may. be. usedforyears without-re placing the newnon-inksabsorbent'ribbon, and whichgreatly reduces-the ribbon expense.

Other objectsof the-invention-will be apparent...

from. the following descriptionand claims:

In the. accompanying drawings:

Fig. lis a-top plan view-01a portion of a typing machineequipped with,the improved mechanisms... Fig. 2. is a.,fragmentaryz top: plan .viewshowing therelation between, the, ribbon inking means.

rotatable spoolzsupport: and driving means there for.

Fig. 3 is-an end elevation of the inkingmach1- Fig. 6 is a-sectionalviewtaken along t'heline;

Fig. 7. is a sectional,view taken along the line Fig. 8 is a fragmentarysectional-view. showing aportion. of the inkingmechanism upon-an,enlargedscale.

Fig. 9.is a viewshow-ing a ribbon spool and its. mounting partially;-inelevation and-partially insection.

Fig. 10 is a top plan View of a modifiedformof; spool-mounting With-.thespool removed.

Fig. llisaviewtakenalong the line Il-|l of- Fig. .10 with the spool inplace.

Fig. 12 is a view. showing. a hard ball for applying ink.

Fig. 13is a view showing a ball contacting the ribbon.

Fig. 14 is a view of. another form of inking;- mechanism.

Fig. 15. is a,- viewof another form of. inking mechanism.

Fig. 1.6 is aview of a-post-oi Fig. 15.

This invention may; be, applied to a teletype machine or to a;typewriter, or type mechanism of any kind; using aninktransfer member.

In, the accompanying drawings, for the pur.-. pose. of illustrating anembodiment of my invene tion, it is shownas-appliedtoa. type-writing ma.chine I, having;a fr'ame 2, and roller or platen 3'. which carriesthe-paperor. other material upon which the writingpis done.

The inv ntion contemplates the use of a very long ribbon which is keptuniformly inked and which moves freely from spool to spool with lighttype-bar action, light key action and light carriage return at alltimes.

Conventional portions of the typing machine, not elements of theinvention, have been omitted from the drawings as not needed.

Ribbon spools 6 at opposite sides of the front of the frame are providedat the center of hubs I, with sockets 8 to receive spindles 9 projectingupwardly from hubs I9 of gears II. Each gear II is rotatably mountedupon the head l2 (see Fig. 9) at the inner end of a pivoted arm or leverI3 which is pivotally mounted by a stud I4 and extends diagonally of theframe with its front end projecting forwardly therefrom so that it maybe grasped and the lever swung about its pivot and thus move the gearinto or out of mesh with a companion gear or small pinion I5, mountedupon the upper end of a drive shaft I6. The shafts I6 are the shaftscustomarily employed for carrying the spools of a typing machine. Sincethe gears II are a great deal larger than gears I5, spools 6 will turnmuch slower. A pin IT projects upwardly from the hub of each gear forengagement in a socket I8 in the spool applied to spindle 9, restingupon hub 1. Therefore the spool will turn with the gear and turn slowlywhen gear II is in mesh with companion gear I5. The gear II may bemounted by ball bearings in the head I2 of arm I3 so that when it isswung about its pivot to move the gear II out of mesh with gear [5, thespool 6 may turn very freely and thus reduce the drag and tension uponthe ribbon to a minimum. Very rapid operation of the typewriting machinewith very light touch and easy, quick carriage return are accomplishedeven with a ribbon 288 yds. long. A shield I9 formed of sheet metalprotects each spool. The shield prevents the spool from beingaccidentally struck when moving the carriage during use of thetypewriting machine. Since the shields are releasably secured by screws20 passed through depending front and side portions of the shields andinto threaded openings formed in the frame 2, the shields may be removedwhen necessary.

When the ribbon has travelled in one direction for its full length it isnecessary to swing the arms 53 to adjusted positions and thus cause thepreviously power driven spool to be free from any connection with therotating shafts upon which the gears l are mounted. The other spool 6 iscaused to be driven from the companion gear. It is also necessary toeffect automatic, or manual, adjustment of the mechanism for reversingthe drive mechanism of the shafts i6 and thereby cause the directionalmovement of the ribbon and the driving gears 55 to be reversed. Sometypists may object to manually shifting the positions of the spools andthe gears. They may depend upon a conventional, automatic mechanism foreffecting reversal of directional movement of the ribbon. The gears IImay be rotatably mounted in ball bearings carried by the blocks 2| shownin Fig. 11 which correspond to the heads I2 and are mounted upon theforwardly projecting arms 22 of brackets 23 through which the shafts Itare rotatably mounted. This modified construction with gears II and I5always in mesh, is shown in Figs. and 11. If gear I5 is always in meshwith gear II, when a full spool of ribbon is unwinding and the ribbonpasses in contact with inking means to receive ink therefrom, then thereis much more drag on the ribbon and a much shorter ribbon must beemployed or greater power must be had to rotate the shafts I6, wheneither shaft is driving the gears and win-ding up the ribbon. One maytighten the ca iage drum spring as tightly as possible, which causes aheavy key action and a heavy carriage return and means greater exertionfor the typists hands. In order to secure the desired results for thetypist from an extremely large spool of ribbon (up to 288 yds. long) itis necessary to combine the features of the freely moving spool 6 withits gear I I out of mesh with gear I5 so spool 6 is free from any dragwhich in the case of the right spool in the conventional typewriter, isconsiderable, that drag being caused by a shaft underneath the type-barswhich rotates and the vertical shaft I6 which rotates in theconventional machine when the right spool is unwinding. of course theright spool in the conventional machine is mounted where I mount drivinggear I5.

During movement of the ribbon 5, ink may be applied to it preferably asit moves away from the vibrator 4 and thus cause the ribbon to besupplied with a thin film of ink which is brought in conventional mannerinto contact with the paper about the platen producing writtenimressions which are all of the desired rich color. In order to transferthe ink to the ribbon as the ribbon moves in the direction away from thevibrator 4, there are inking units 24 mounted at opposite sides ofvibrator 4 and these are alike.

Each of the inking units has a base 25 which may be formed of a block ofplastic material, metal, or other suitable material. It is firmlymounted upon a side wall of the frame 2 by screws 26. A metal plate 2'!is mounted upon the base block 25 and projects from the inner endthereof. A block 33 is mounted at the front edge of the inwardlyprojecting end portion of the plate 21; and at opposite sides of thisend portion of the plate are guide rollers 29 and 3D rotatably mountedabout posts 3| and 32; the post 3| being carried by said block 33mounted upon the plate and the post 32 being secured to the plate 2'! atthe opposite side thereof from the block 33. A. bar 34 extendstransversely of the outer end portion of the plate 21 and, at its rearend, is pivotally mounted by a screw 35 so that it may be urged inwardlyby a spring 36 anchored to the plate 21 and attached to the bar. Thisbar carries an upstanding shaft 31 about which an ink applying wheel 38,with a knurled, peripheral face is rotatably mounted. Or the hard ballof Fig. 12 may be used to apply ink to a face of the ribbon 5. Inkingwheel 38, with the knurled face has frictional contact with the ribbonso that as the ribbon moves, the wheel 38 will be rotated and ink on theknurled face of the wheel will be transferred to a face of the ribbon.An arcuate guide, or ribbon retainer, 39, having a shank 48 extends,circumferentially of the wheel, for a portion of the circumferencethereof and the shank extends inwardly under the wheel with its innerend secured to the bar 34. The fingers 4| of the guide 39 overlie theupper edge of the rim or margin of the wheel 38 and the arcuate guidewill thus serve very effectively to guide the ribbon against the knurledface of the wheel; or flanged inking wheels may be used as in Fig. 14.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the ribbon passes aboutthe outer portion of the inking wheel 38 with portions engaged with theguide rollers 29 and 30 and other portions of the 5. ribboni passingthrough slotted posts 42 and 43 projecting up from plate 2-1.

'41 d'fF'igA-is a small lever to which the handle or arm 454s "securelyfastened. Th lever 45 is pivoted to-base plate 21. In order to move thesmall gear 4 1 out of'mesh with the gear 8, the arm 4'5 is'turnedforcing inking wheel 38 out of contact with ink screen-65, thusseparating the gears 41 and 48 completely. Hub 46 of inking wheel 38'extends downwardly and carries the smau'gear or p'inionfl which may bein mesh with large gear 48 to cause gear 48 to turn very slowly whenthe'inkin'g' wheel 38 isrotated by'the ribbon.

The gear lB is an element of the mechanism by means-of which ink isdelivered from reservoir or ink-well to the ink applying member 38,which maybe a wheel with a knurled peripheral face, or agear or a hardball. (For the hardball see Figs..-1-2"an'd'- 13). (For the gear orwheel with teeth and'with flanges, see Figure 14). Gear' lii mayberotatably supported upon a thrust bearing 50*whi'ch is carried by theplate 21. Gear $8 supports "a shaft 5| which projects upwardly therefromand passes through the housing 52 of the mechanism. Within this housingthe shaft 5! carries a rotary ink feeding and mixing member identifiedby reference numer'at'iifiin Fig. 6 as a threaded roller and byreference numeral 53'A inFigs. I-2' 'and as a wheel, gear or disk whichmaybe-provided with projecting teeth.

Ghar48- may be driven by gear [5 instead of by gear lTas is shown-inFigs. 4 and 6. See also Fig-. 2'whereingear l5- drives gear it throughan intermediate gear I 5-A. Shaft lfiB which may be supported in anysuitable manner on the typing mechanism serves as a mounting for gearIS-A, the teeth of which coact with the teeth of ears l5 and 48. Gear l5may also drive a spool li which-hasgears for its topand bottom as shownin Fig. 15 (such spools are commonly used in oneor the standardelectrical typing machines) or spool-{may have a gear fastened securelyto its lower face in any suitable manner. When spool ii isunwinding. Ifind it necessary to shift the lever orarm l3' so that the spool isentirely free from the drag of any connection with gear l5, whether thespool-is mounted above gear I! or has one or both ofits faces withprojecting teeth for gears, or has a gear securely fastened to itsbottom face, and 'this is particularly necessary when gear l5 ma beconnected with both gears i l by which is meant that gear I5 is in meshwith both faces of the spb'o'lb. In other words, whenever spool fiisitself constructed of two disks which are in reality gears H and ll-A (seeFig. 15) then gears I I and l l''A must be out of mesh before spool'6begins th'e'unw-ind. This is when the typing machine is equipped alsowith the inking means for feeding ink't'o'the ribbon 5. If the machineis used with very large spools and is not equipped with inking unitsandthe ribbon-is removed from the maohine for reinkin-g, then it isquite reasonable t'o'em'ploy still larger spools and employ very lon'gribbons in such machines, just as long as the availablespacewillaccommodate, and this means also using spools which reach over andcomplete ly cover the gear I5 fastened to shaft 56, and it means-usingspools that almost touch the platen orroller 3 and which extend two orthree inches beyond the sides of the typing machin and extend to" thevery front of the machine. A gear train may be used.

Ink is moved and stirred and mixed in the ink reservoir automaticallyduring operation of the typing machine and when a threaded inkingrbllerisemployed as may be-advisable in certain types-oftypingmachines-(see 53 of Fig. 6) the ink is'moved to'an opening 58 and entersthe housing. Calk washers 5'5 and 56', which may be cork or any suitablematerial; 'arelocated at the upper and at the lower ends of the housing52 and may be located in'between as in Fig. 12 at 56-A. In order'toavoidundue leakage of ink when a very thin pigment ink is employed, insteadof using the drainage pan of U. S. Patent No. 2,158,944, I'usea packingon both sides of cork washer 56. This packing 51' is fitted closely andsnugly about th'e'shaft- 5|. In addition to the regular commercialgaskets orpacking, I may also use washers made of closely woven nylon.As the nylon threads are non-ink-absorptive, they serve well for thispurpose, particularly if six or eight of theinareused. The ink entersthe housing 52 from'the reservoir 49 through an inlet recess 58 formedat the rear of washer '55, at the rear of the upper part of the housingand at the bottom of thereservoir 49. (See Figs. 5, 6, and 8.) Sincethe'in'kmust be stirred and mixed, if it is a suitable ink'for use'intyping machine ribbons for permanentrecords and for Writing letters anddocuments of importance which require first class, permanent inks, therehas been provided an ink mixer or agitator 59 (see Fig. 5) which issecured to'the upper end of the internally threaded shaft 5'! by screw50. Since the hub, or enlarged portion of the mixer blade overlies theupper washer 5 5. its'e'rves to prevent this washer 55 from moving outof its place;

The ink reservoir lil'is supported over the plate 2'! and the gear wheel48' by a post 5! secured upon the plate by a screw 62. About the upperend of this 'post 5 l "is groove 63 in which there is a helical spring64'. End portions of this spring 64 extend from opposite sides of thepost 6| towards the housing as shownin Fig. 7, and are attached to theends of a screen 65 which is woven of very fine wire strands or wirethreads and extends about the housing with its intermediate portioncrossing the discharge opening as shown in Figures 7 and 8. The inkpasses through the fine screen" and upon the knurled edge face of theinking wheel 38; and from this wheel the ink is transferred to a face ofthe ribbon '5 as the ribbon moves to the spool. When it is necessary toreplenish th'e'supply of ink in the reservoir the cap'Bfi is unscrewedfrom the filling opening 61 of the reservoir and ink poured into thereservoir.

Instead of forming the ink feeder in the housing'as a threaded roller 53as in Fig. 6, it may consist'o'f'a" wheel, gear or a disk 53A (see Figs.8. 12 and 15 and'forrned about its periphery with teeth fiewhich'servesas an ink feeder and mixer. The disk or gear has an upstanding sleeve 10which fits about the shaft 5i and is spaced from the annular wall of thehousing 52 so that there will be ample room for ink to flow downwardlythroughtheopening' at the rear of housing and into'contact' with thetoothed disk.

A typing machine constructed as illustrated and described is veryefficient in operation since the ink is fed through the housing from thereservoir with precision at a steady rate of flow to the ink feeder andmixer in the housing and therefrom to the'ink applying wheel 38 (seeFig. 6) or to the hardball S t-A (see Figs. 12, 13 and 15); and bycontact the ink is fed to a face of the ribbon in minute amounts; andthe power required to do this is much less than in prior mechanisms ofmy patents and a much longer ribbon may be employedand'a ribbon may beused W-hich'is made of synthetic threads which is much more wearresistant than all other ribbons heretofore patented.

or used for typing machine ribbons with which.

bon may be produced. The fibres themselves may' not be imperfect as tosize but the degumming process may not be done perfectly resulting in a.ribbon that is not absolutely uniform. It has never been possible toweave natural silk threads. at the mill with absolutely perfect resultsbecause silk is greatly affected by the temperature of the weaving room,the moisture in the air of the weaving room and by other factors. Withsynthetic fibres such as I employ for my new, improved typing machineribbon, there are no such. obstacles to securin ribbons of uniform sizethroughout a 288 yard length and the new threads wear almost like metalthreads. The resultant writing from the new ribbon and the very longribbon and from the use of the new, easier moving inking units, is whattypists require. With the very long ribbon they may have writing withthe right amount of ink for sharp impressions of rich color and may havesuch writing for the life of the typing machine without changing theribbon. It is simply a matter of having the necessary space for theinking units and for the very large spools and in some of the standardtyping machine now on the market, there is sufiicient space for verylong ribbons. By friction calendering, the thickness of the new,synthetic ribbon of this application, may be reduced to as low as .0015of an inch. When such a ribbon is employed the typist may reasonably usemicro type for correspondence and for legal documents since the writingis printlike and as easily read as the printed page of a magazine orbook employing usual size type. The new ribbon as thin as .0015 of aninch is extremely tough and wear resistant due to the very uniquestrength of the synthetic threads. The life of the new ribbon may beprolonged by a fourth by simply usin metal type faces which have a dull,knife edge and not a cutting edge. Present typing machines are usuallybuilt for use with ordinary cotton Writing ribbons as much as .005 of aninch thick and because of this thickness, the type employed, having towrite under the great handicap of the heavy, thick, cotton ribbon, haveedges that are sharp and that can cut. The cotton fabric is protected tosome extent in machines that employ anvils or stop-rings. The newsynthetic ribbon can easily withstand the cutting blows of the sharpfaced metal type but the writing will be just as beautiful and therewill be more of it before the fabric of the synthetic ribbon is badlyworn, if the edges of the metal type are dull.

If the ribbon is .0015 of an inch thick, a surprisingly long ribbon maybe: wound into a ribbon spool and 288 yards of such ribbon does notrequire a very large spool, that is unwieldy at all. The distance fromthe platen or roller to the front part of a typing machine which employsspools containing 288 yds. of such a thin synthetic ribbon, i not greatand is not at all unreasonable and for the first time, it permits theuse of ribbons and spools and inking units that give the typist what hasbeen greatly needed and it puts an end to the great expense ofpurchasing so many standard length typing machine ribbons on smallspools. These ribbons have ten times the life if ink is fed to them,short as they are, but the custom is to discard the fabric the momentthe ink i nearly gone. Each separate ribbon means another metal spooland another box to pay for and the labor expense involved too. officesis that with my new 288 yard, synthetic ribbon .0015" in thickness, thetypist doesnt lose time changing ribbons; this is one big item ofexpense because typists pay is high and the time lost changing theribbon and cleaning the hands afterwards is considerable and delays thetypists work. If the writing that is being done is one long document, itmeans a complete change in the appearance of the writing when the newribbon is first used. All this is avoided by the use of the combinationof the new ribbon 288 yards long, the new, large spools and new spoolinggears and the new means for freeing the unwinding spool from anyconnection with the rotating shafts, and the new, small, freelyoperating inking units.

One who knows nothing about the typewriter art may say that the spool ofthe conventional typing machine rotates freely when unwinding but thefact remains that the drag greatly limits the length of ribbon that maybe used in connection with the inking units, and it is whollyunnecessary to have the unwinding spool mounted on a rotating shaftespecially since the conventional machine has the said shaft connectedby gears with a long shaft which extends underneath the typebars acrossto the opposite side of the machine and both of these shafts rotate inthe conventional machine whenever the spool of ribbon unwinds. The draand tension on the ribbon in such a machine increases as the ribbon inthe unwinding spool becomes less. Before making the present invention,applicant visited various typing machine factories of this country andforeign countries and it was impossible to locate any typing machinewhich did not have the drawback above-mentioned. Applicant experiencedgreat difficulty in usin conventional machines, including the electrictyping machines, because of the drag on the ribbon and because this dragbecame much greater if the ribbon was as much a thirty six yards inlength. Applicant has observed various types of electrically operatedtyping machines run night and day, with no manual typing, in makingtests of inked ribbons and inkin units through the years. This dragwhich seem of no consequence to the layman is really of great importanceand has been a supreme obstacle in securing the results that typists areentitled to have when using typing machines. Business men are entitledto the better wriing of the present invention at the large saving inexpense for typing machine ribbons. They are entitled to the largeamount of writing to be had even in using present typing machines of afew different brands or makes, if the new inventions are attached, asthere is the space available for very long inked ribbons and the largerspools and also inking units, although, of course, these machines cannotuse 288 yard ribbons for letter writing and for usual oflice work as themachines are built with a limited space available between the platensand front part.

However, one big item in very busy Through the years business men'p'ayalmost as much :for i inked ribbons for typing machines duringthe-liftof such machines as the cost ofthemachines-themselves. Thepresent invention saves thisexpense and it will only be necessarytopurchase ink; Even cotton typing machine ribbons are expensive now.The fabric used for such ribbons must be-free from defects which wouldnot matter'if the-fabric was to' be used for making wearingapparel.The'inspection of such textile fabrics is very: severe since the rib-'bons must be suitable for usein writing-with elite or pica typeand anyknots or broken threads or other defects can spoil the writing and'givea blot or blurred imprint on the-writing surface or paper. Thecost of'weaving cotton fabrics or silk fabrics for--inked-ribbons is very muchhigher than heretofore andit i also necessary to pay higher prices formetal spools,wrappingfoil; and metal boxes forthe'ribbons.- It-is=customary for thetypist to throw away the-spool and the box as well astheused ri-bbon; The present invention prevents this.

A late model typing-'machinewill dovery'ugly writing if 'a very thick;heavily inked ribbon is used. Even avery 'oldtyping-machine that is ingood repair will do very-neat work=fora long period if given in ribbon288fyards' long that is only .0015- of "an'inch'thick; The typingmachine maker; however, purposely limits the space that isavailable-forthe ribbon so as "to require the frequent replacement ofa-short-ribbon. The writing results from the long-ribbon are vastlysuperior to-those obtainedfrom the usual '12 yd. ribbon. Since the'12-yd." ribbon must act as an ink reservoir and-carry=a-reserve inksupply, it writes too heavily at thestart, unless itis-a lightly-inkedribbon; andon the wear down,- the writingsoon is dim. Not one 'typis'tin ten thou- Sandin-a busypffice isfrirnishd lightly inked ribbonsbecause they-containsdlittle ink' and must so soon bereplaced.The-amount'of writ ing they can do is verylittle. Itiscustomary for atyping machine"salesman* todemonstrate a'typing machine."of any kind;witha' lightly inked ribbon so that the writing willlook very sharp andneat. This is misleading because the moment that machine-isequippedwith'the'usual cotton ribbon medium inked or' heavily inked-(for economy) 'thewr iting is ugly. The present invention means a greatsaving inink used since the extremely thin; n'on-ink abs'o'rptive,syntheticribbon givesvery sharp writing and very little' ink is used inmaking each impression on the paper. Sinceth'e newribbon' makesit-reasonable to use micro type" in typingmachines for'generalcorrespondence and for legal documents, it is possible to put twice asmuch on a page as when pica type is used." Paper also is very expensivetodayand this means a big :sav-" mg.

The twelve yard} standard, typing machine ribbon. is commonly us'ed'intypewriters, teletype machines; bookkeeping machines; tc." It is commonto see court stenographers transcripts written with'several ribbons andwith'writing of very different inkcolor at difierent' places in thelarge; thick books of court testimony. It is common to see loose leafrecords of the auditing departments of hotels and business'ofiicesandalso bank'records with different looking imprint's on the sheets. Onelinemay be lightly inked writing and the "next "line -(when"newribbonwas used) may be heavy.

The-present invention remedies these defects once and for all.

There-is'nolonger any reason why the higher courts should requirethatall court papers of acasethe judges 'are toread must be printedsince with the new .0015 of aninch synthetic ribbon'the writing-from thetyping machineyequipped with the inking units is printlike .andfor-thousands of pages remains of-thesame rich color and atlittleexpense by an inexpensive process photostat-copies maybe producedwhich-are just as easily read-'as actual printed pages.- v i U c Sincethe new-very thin, synthetic ribbon is non-ink-absorbent '-:it iscleaner than prior art ribbons-and when used with the inki ngunits(which feed minute amounts-of inkduring operation' of -machine) thesynthetic ribbon simply carries a small'amount of surface ink; and thereis'very. little ink for the typetostrike into and it is'seldomnecessaryto clean the type of the machineof the present invention; Thistypeof ribbon is especially. valuable in usin the micro type and due: toits thinness it gives the full beauty of the micro typ'e faces -andmakesthem very easy;to-read. Usual standard ribbons-are not satisfactory foruse with th micr type because'of the reserve-ink supply-they all mustcarryr which mean thicknessof fabric and ugly outlines-from microtype.Much more use of the fabric may be had from a micro type machine sincethe micro, t pe are so small they strike {a very small portion of thewidth of the: ribbon; In my U=.' S.- Patent; No.- 1,324,265, isshown 1 amechanism for makingdifferent-part of the Width of the ribbon usable; so7 that 'thesentire width of thefabric will be utilized and none wasted.Even withawriting-ribbon only; 1 50f an inch wide,- it is -possib1e-towrite alon three different :paths of" the ribbon when using-a typingmachine equipped with-micro type; And micro type is a standard typeoftypin machine makers and has been forlongs-years. The ink fountaintypewriter makes such 'type of high importance. One form of' an-inkapplying wheelwhich may be used is simply a gear 38 of approximatelyoneforth inch-in-diameter and with a periphery approximately 3% -ofan-inch 'thinck; or a another form is shownat 38 -A-of-- Fig.1 12-;andalso at 38--A in Fig.- -13. The hard-balli 38 -A carries a-small gearand this gear is driven by the rotary member 53 A For each revolution ofrotary member 53 A-,-the member 38 -A may makea large-numberofrevolutions; The ribbon maybe held in yielding. contact .with rotarymember 38 A-b'y means of a post l4as shown in Fi'g. 1 5,' This-post mayhave a fiat surface 18 on the side which-contacts the ribbon andpressesit yieldingly.. against rotary inernber 38 A. As" best shown 'inFig. 16-withinpost l4 and directly -op posite the ribbon and ;directly-.opposi-te the rotary member -3 8- -A is 'first-;ametal'- pin 11 with asmooth. flat surfacela pressin eagainstthe rib bon and pressingtheribbon'against rotary member 38- -A'. Back=of thepinis aspring fl ofsuitable resiliency which-maintains the metal pin ll'pressing' againstaface of said ribbon and pressing the said ribbon yieldinglyagainst therotary. member 38"-A as. saidmember is posi-{ tively driven by rotaryIniemlmr 53-'-A." Gear I5 is mounted on shaft' ldand gear 48 ispositively driven. Gear l5 may drive "a. gear train'of which 48 isonemember and'gear'H 'of a spoolli'may be another member: I do notlimitthe number of 'gear's'whi'ch may.be' 'drivenfby'the gear 15:?

Ribbon 5 of-Figf13 'inaly'be"pressed'yildingly against the ball 38A ofFig. 13 as above described and as illustrated in Fig. 15 by the spring76 and metal pin 11 within post 74. The spring may be of any suitablediameter. I prefer that the pin be at least one-eighth of an inch indiameter and have a smooth, polished face 78 against the ribbon anddirectly opposite the rotary member 38- of Fig. 13.

Another form of ink applying member is shown in Fig. 14. Wheel H may beused instead of the other ink applying members shown in the otherfigures of the application. This wheel has shaft 3'lA and shaft 3'IAcarries gear ll-A. About the periphery of wheel II are the flanges 12which serve to hold the ribbon in place and are employed in place of theguide 39 shown in Fig. 4. A circumferentially extending rib 13 of anydesired shape may project from the wheel H about the periphery thereoffor engagement with the ink on the surface of screen 65A. This rib maybe knurled or formed with small teeth for good frictional contact with aface of ribbon 5. The projecting rib 13 of wheel H may have a perfectlysmooth surface that may be oneeighth inch wide, or wider, or narrower,and wheel H may be positively driven from gear IS on shaft I6, since thesmooth surface of the rib will not furnish good frictional contact withribbon 5. Or I may use a small, hard, rotating ball instead of-wheel H,mounted on a small shaft 3lA carryin the gear 4l-A. The ball may be 5%of an inch in diameter or any desired size to meet the inkingrequirements of the typing machine of which it will be a part, to keepthe optimum amount of ink on a face of a writing ribbon for writing ofrich color that is at all times neat and printlike. The ball may have asmooth surface and get its ink from contact with the screens ink supply.The ball may be partly enclosed or it may be entirely outside a housing.It may be driven from gear l5 mounted on shaft 16 as shown in Fig. 12wherein gear l5 drives gear 48, and rotary member 38-A is not dependentfor rotary motion upon the contact it makes with a face of ribbon 5.

Still another form of ink applying member is shown in Fig. 15. Rotarymember 38A is a smooth surface ball which rotates as it presses towardsthe disk 53A. Inside post M is a horizontal hole extending through theflat face of the post that is towards ball 38-A and said hole goesintothe post and almost through it, and. said hole is suificiently longto hold a resilient spring 16 and ontop of said spring is a substantialmetal pin '11, which may be T 2 of an inch in diameter and said pin ispressed by said spring yieldingly towards the ball 38A and pressesribbon 5 against said ball yieldingly and presses said ball yieldinglytowards disk 53A. Disk 53A may have teeth of any desirable size or itmay be smooth. Shaft 5llA carries gear 48 and also disk 53-A. Shaft 51also carries ink mixer and thinner 59-A. The cork washers 55A and 56-Alie above and below disk 53A within housing 19. The ball 38A is almostcompletely enclosed by housing 19. Spool 6 may have gears II and I|A forits two faces and spool 6 may be in mesh with gear l5-A mounted on shaftl6. Gear l5 may also be in mesh with gear 48 for rotation of disk 53-Aand ink mixer and thinner 59A. Spool 6 may be supported as shown in Fig.9 but omitting the teeth of gear ll since spool 6 of Fig. has gears forits top and for its bottom faces.

The ink applying members of Figs. 12, 13 and 15 are particularly fortyping machines now conventional and where the space is extremelylimited for attaching inking units and larger spools. The spools usedmay have gears for their top and bottom sides or they may have one geareach as one side of a spool, or a gear may be fastened to a face of aspool as may be desirable for the machine. When inking mechanisms areemployed such as illustrated in Figs. 12, 13 and 15, there is aconsiderable saving in making the same as fewer parts are required thanfor the mechanisms of Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The mechanism of Fig.14 is simpler and has fewer parts than the mechanisms of Figs. 1, 4, 5,6, 7 and 8.

After several years use of the typing machine of U. S. Patent 2,322,737I find it gives good results but it is much more costly today to rebuildpresent conventional typing machines and equip the same with the newshafts and gears and axles and large spools of the machine of thatpatent than it is to equip conventional typing machines with the presentinvention. The inking units of the present invention are much smallerand operate more easily and more efficiently and the spools of thepresent typing machine may be larger and carry more ribbon and muchwider ribbon than the machine of the Patent 2,322,737. The typist maywrite very rapidly with the machine of the present invention using muchlarger spools than spools of the invention of said patent and expendless energy at all times. This is due to the fact that the presentinvention uses the ribbon of great length more efiiciently and with lessdrag than heretofore. The carriage spring carried in drum of said patent(see 100, Fig. 1, sheet 1 of said patent) must be made tighter whenusing the machine of said patent than is necessary in using the presentinvention. As that spring is tightened. the force necessary to move thetypebars is increased and the typist finds it necessary to put moreenergy into the movement of each of the keys of the typing machine. Theideal typing machine has the lightest, quickest, snappiest and mostelastic and satisfying action and it gives neat, printlike writing atall times from one ribbon which during the life of the machine neverwears out because the fabric is tougher than other fabrics used intyping machines and is longer and is always inked. When a ribbon becomesdry, the type injure the fabric much faster.

It will, of course, be understood that the mechanisms described may beused on any typing or printing mechanisms employing type and a transfermember, whether said member is in the form of a ribbon, sheet or anyother form.

The hard ball of Figs. 12, 13 and 15 may be of plastic, metal, stone, orany suitable material.

I do not limit myself as to the kinds of material used for any of thevarious parts of the invention. While screens are illustrated anddescribed, these are not a necessity for all typing machines. Also it isto be understood that the constructions shown are for purposes ofillustration only and variations may be made in sizes and styles ofparts and in details without departing from the scope of the presentinvention in any way.

I may use a synthetic ribbon made of chemical fibres, that is man-madefibres which may be a protein-like chemical product or polyamide. Thesuperpolymers which make up the polyamide family can be made in severaldifferent ways. One of the simplest involves the reaction of a dibasicacid (of which there are many) with an organic diamine. formation ofrelatively small molecules, is followed by heating'to bring about theunion of polyamide molecules.

- or filling. I product available to the public, very closely woven inextremely thin, very smooth fabrics. Or I may ink fountain typewriter ofFig. 1.

This reaction, which results in the many of these small moleculesto givethe giant tion of various dibasic acids, amino-acids, and

diamines. Dibasicacids derived from phenol may be used in makingchemical fibres'suitable for the threads of n'on-ink-absorbent typingmachine ribbons; also a diamine likewise derived from phenol may beused. Oxygen from the air is 1 also needed in making the dibasic acid,and ammonia is used in making the diamine.

Drawn, synthetic fibres of this chemical nature possess a high degree ofelasticity and also have great tensile strength and great wearresistance under the blows of the metal type of machines used inwriting. While the expression non-ink-abso-rbent is used'in thisapplication, I do not limit rustproof and that are very pliable and areextremely finein size may be used either in warp Such fibres are now acommercial use synthetic ribbons made in part (or entirely) under theviscose, cuprammonium, nitrocellulose or other processes. Or I may usesilk fabric con taining all or part of the natural gum and such fabricmay be highly calendered to an extremely;-

thin ribbon that is substantially non-ink-absorb- -ent. Or I may usenatural cotton fibers which in the particular inking mechanism forsupplying ink correctly to the ribbon. The ink'feeding and mixingmembers 53 and 53A may be of any size needed for feeding the correctamount of ink required for micro type, elite type, pica type, smallgothic' type, bulletin type, roman type, etc.

For teletype machines, I may use a non-pig- -ment inkin the reservoirand may use a plain disk, having a smooth peripheral surface, as the inkfeeder, since the one ink mixer in the reservoir is usually sufiicientfor such a thin ink; or I may omit the ink feeding disk and use a woolor cotton wick or wool yarn for feeding an extremely thin ink to the inkapplying member which is in actual contact with a face of the writ-. ingribbon.

This application is being written with the new writing ribbon of myinvention mounted in the The spools are much larger than normal and aremounted as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The spools are mounted near theconventiona1 shafts used ordinaril in all typewriters for carrying thespools. The shafts in the ink fountain typewriter which is being usedare carrying no spools but carry steel gears of the type shown as '15 inFig. 10. Directly mesh. When the: spool is full of ribbon and begins tounwind, it is entirelyfree from. any con- Thousands of differentchemical fibres can be made by interpolymeriza- "14 nection whateverwith ggear lli. -Thespool'c0mpletely hides gears I I and U5. The windingspool always moves much slower than the gear I5 when gears of relativesizes shown in Fig. 10 are used in the typing machine. I- may use fabricscreens behind the thin, wirescreens. I may use pigment ink of the typecommonly used in pigment ink ribbons. For more details on thesesubjects, reference is made to U. S. Patents 2,074,969; 2,158,944.

What I claim is:

1. Device for supplying ink to a ribbon in a typing machine duringoperation of said machine, comprising an ink'reservoir; astationarymember and pressure spring on one side of said ribbon; an ink applierin'the form of a ball, on the opposite side of said ribbon; and meansfor applying ink from said reservoir to said ink applier for transfer tosaid ribbon in the desired amounts.

2. In a device for use in a typing machine which employs a writingribbon composed of synthetic threads having a tensile strength greaterthan natural fibers, a frame, a base plate, a shaft driven duringthe-operation of the machine having a gear mounted thereon to rotatewith said shaft, rotatable supporting-means for a ribbon spool includinga gear, a. movable lever mounted on said base plate'which serves as asupport'for said rotatable supporting means, an inking mechanism havingat least one rotary member driven by a gear whichis permanently in meshwith the aforesaid gear on said shaft, means for attaching said base.plate to said frame, and means for moving said lever to effect meshingof said shaft gear and said gear of the rotatable ribbon spoolsupporting means for winding said ribbon upon said spool and for movingsaid gears out of meshing relationwhen the ribbon is unwinding from saidspool during operation of the machine.

3. Device for a typing machine employing .a writing ribbon, including atleast one base plate; spools supported in spaced relation between whichsaid ribbon is transferred during operation of said machine; at leastone driving shaft for driving a ribbon spool for winding said ribbon; amovable support for a spool for moving said spool out of any drivingconnection with said shaft when said ribbon is unwinding from a spool ina typing machine; an inking mechanism, including an ink reservoir; anink feed member for feeding ink from said reservoir to a rotary inkapplier for transfer to a face of said ribbon; mechanical driving means,independent of said ribbon, for driving said ink applier positively'fromsaid driving'shaft; and that spool which is unwinding the said ribbonhaving different position in said machine from its position in themachine when said spool is winding the said ribbon; and means forsimultaneously breaking the driving connection by which said ink appliermay be free from the driving force of said driving shaft, and said inkapplier may also be free from contact with said ink.

4. In a typing machine having a writing ribbon and a mechanism to makeinked impressions on a writing surface by means of said ribbon;

' means for moving said ribbon past the typing position, includingribbon spools; spool driving shafts fitted with gears; at least oneinking mechanism for inking said-ribbon, including a reservoir for ink;an inking member receiving ink 1 from said reservoir; a rotary inkapplier having a gear said inking member having a gear which is adapted:to mesh with a gear on-said-driving shaft; the said inking members gearand the said driving shaft gear being constantly in mesh; and means forbringing the gear of said ink ap- Iplier in mesh with the gear of saidinking member; means for feeding said ink from said inking member tosaid ink applier for transfer to a face of said ribbon; said spoolsbeing mounted on shiftable supports separate from said spool drivingshafts, and said shafts being free from the weight of said spools and ofsaid ribbon when wound into a spool; and that spool which is unwindingthe said ribbon having a different position in said machine from itsposition in the ma chine when said spool is winding said ribbon; andthat spool which is unwinding being entirely free from any connectionwith said spool driving shaft or any gear fastened to said shaft so thatsaid spool which is unwinding may unwind with much less ribbon tensionand drag than in prior art machines and conventional typing machines.

5. In a typing machine having a writing ribbon and a mechanism to makeinked impressions on a writing surface by means of said ribbon; meansfor moving said ribbon past the typing position, including ribbonspools; spool driving shafts fitted with gears; at least one spool beingmounted separate and apart from said spool driving shafts, on ashiftable base; both of said spool driving shafts being free from theweight of any spools at all times; at least one inking mechanism forinking said ribbon, including a reservoir for ink; a housing extendingfrom said reservoir; a threaded, rotary member within said housing anopening in said housing for passage of ink from said rotary member to aflanged inking wheel; said rotary member having a gear which is inconstant mesh with a gear which is in driving connection with said spooldriving shaft; means for driving said wheel; means for forcing saidwheel out of driving connection with any other rotary member of saidinking mechanism and at the same time forcing said wheel away from anycontact with ink from said rotary member; and said ribbon contactingsaid wheel for transfer of ink therefrom to a face of said ribbon; andthat spool which is unwinding the said ribbon having a differentlocation in said machine from its location when winding said ribbon.

6. A device for use in a typing machine employing a writing ribbon andhaving spools supported in spaced relation between which said ribbon istransferred during operation of the machine, said device comprising atleast one inking mechanism having at least one rotary member forapplying ink to said ribbon; at least one spool driving shaft adapted tosupport at least one gear; means for connecting a spool with saiddriving shaft to rotate said spool when said ribbon is being wound;means for connecting said rotary member of said inking mechanism withsaid driving shaft entirely independent of the movement of said ribbon;and means for breaking the driving connection between the said shaft andthe said spool and also between the shaft and the said rotary member.

7. A device for use as a part of a typing machine employing verticalspool shafts, including ribbon spools mounted on movable basespositioned in spaced relation to said spool shafts, a ribbon which istransferred between said spools during operation of said machine, atleast one inking mechanism having at least one ink reservoir, and atleast one ink feed roller and at least one ink applier which rotates asit receives ink fed to it from said reservoir by said roller, and as itapplies ink to a face of said ribbon; means for driving the rotatingmembers of said inking mechanism from at least one of said spool shafts,and means for breaking the driving connection between said shaft and atleast one of said rotating members.

8. Device for use as a part of a typing machine employing a writingribbon and employing means for making inked impressions on a surface;said device including a ribbon spool and at least one inking mechanismhaving at least one rotary member; means for driving said rotary memberindependent of the said ribbon; a driving shaft adapted to rotate saidrotary member of said inking mechanism; said driving shaft being alsoadapted to rotate said ribbon spool; and means for breaking the drivingconnection between said shaft and said spool and between said shaft andsaid rotary member when said spool is unwinding.

9. In a typing machine having a writing ribbon and a mechanism formaking inked impressions on a surface by means of said ribbon; means formoving said ribbon past the typing position, including spools, spoolshafts; gears for connecting said spools and shafts; a mechanism forinking said ribbon; said mechanism including a reservoir for ink and atleast one rotary member; means for driving said rotary member from saidshaft independent of said ribbon; means for rotating said spool by saidshaft when said ribbon is winding into said spool; and means for freeingsaid spool from any connection with said driving shaft when said ribbonis ready for unwinding from said spool.

10. In a typing machine having a Writing ribbon and a mechanism formaking inked impressions on a surface by means of said ribbon; means formoving said ribbon past the typing position, including spools, spoolshafts; driving means for connecting said spools and shafts; and amechanism for inking said ribbon, said mechanism having at least tworotary members; means, independent of the movement of said ribbon, fordriving at least one of said rotary members from said shaft; and meansfor freeing a spool from any connection with said driving shaft whensaid ribbon is ready to unwind from a spool.

11. In a typing machine having a writing ribbon and means for makingimpressions on a writing surface, the combination of means for movingsaid ribbon past the typing position, including spools, spool drivingshafts, with a mechanism for inking said ribbon; 'said mechanism havingat least one rotary member; and driving means, independent of saidribbon, connecting said rotary member and said shaft; and means forbreaking the driving connection between said driving shaft and saidrotary member; and means for separating said driving shaft fromconnection with said spool when said ribbon is ready to unwindtherefrom.

12. In a typing machine, the combination of a writing ribbon includingsynthetic, substantially non-ink-absorbent, fibres of greater strengththan natural textile fibres, a ribbon spool on which said ribbon isadapted to be wound and unwound and an inking mechanism including atleast one rotary member, for feeding ink to said ribbon in said machine;a spool rotating shaft connected with a rotary member of said inkingmechanism for rotating said member; and means for breaking the drivingconnection between said shaft and said rotary member when said ribbon isready to unwind from said spool,

.13. :In agtypingtmachine, equipped with a writing ribbonnincluding atleast some synthetic fibres of greater; strength and wear resistanceunder the blows of the type of said machine than natural textile fibres,the combination of an ink reservoirand means for feeding ink from saidreservoirto a faceofrsaidribbon in said machine during operation ofsame; said means including at .least' two. rotary members; a: spoolrotating shaft; a spool for. winding said ribbon;-driving means fordriving atleast onerotary member ofsaidmeans for, feedingink, from saidshaft, independent of the said ribbon; and means for instantly breaking:the said driving connection between said shaft. and said rotary member.

14. In atypipgmechanism for printing ir pressions upon. a surface whichemploys an ink carrying ribbon: :that is moved between spools duringthe. operation thereof, the combination comprising shaft means drivenduring the operation .of said mechanism, an inkreservoir, rotary meansin contact. with said ribbon for transferring inkzfrom said reservoir tosaid ribbon, means for driving .said rotary; means by said shaft means;means for rotatably supporting aribbon spool, driving .meansxforrotating said ribbon spool by said shaft means, and means forselectively disengagingsaid.driving means between said shaft means .and.:said :ribbon spool.

15. In. atyping mechanism for printing character upon'ia surface whereinis employed an ink carrying .ribbonsthat is transferred between spoolsduring the-.operation. thereof, .the combinationcomprising.argearzfixedlyt mounted on a shaft which is .-':driven duringthe operation of said mechanism, aninkreservoir; rotary..means incontact withsaidiribbon for transferring ink .fromzysaidz reservoirhtoz.said ribbon, means. for driving-said rotaryimeans .from said gear, a.rib-

bon spool rotatably. supported by. said mechanism, 7

va: driving:connection for. positively driving said rribbonuspool'v'by;.said; gear,.-.and' means for liendering' inoperativeisaid. drivingconnection: between said gearand.saidiribbonuspool.

$216,111,.- a: :typin ..-.;mechanismi for printing im-I.pressions..tupon1a. surface. which employs ;an ink narryingribbonthat'isztransferred between spools during 1; the noperation thereof, 1..the combination comprising; a; .gear:fixed1y. mounted on a. shaft whichtisldritzenalduring: :the. (operation of said mechanism, .an ink.reservoir, rotary means in :contactxwith 'saideribbon. for transferringink -fI'OIIIZSaidi'I'GSBI'VOiI'.- to. said ribbon, a ribbon spoolarotatably mountedupon. a movable support, a driving TCOIIDSCfiOD forpositively driving said ribspool from .saidgear, and means for moving.-said.-.movablesupport andsaid -ribbon spool to render inoperative; thedriving connection be- -tweensaidribbon spool and said gear.

17. In a typing mechanism employing an ink marrying ribbonfor, printingcharacters upon a surface,- a .frame for said mechanism, spools sup-..portedinspaced relation between which said rib- =bon is=transferredduring operation of said mechanism, rotatable supporting means for eachof said spools-supported onsa-id frame, shaft means driven during'theoperation-of said-typing mech- "anism, a -.ribbon;:.inking. mechanismcomprising aminkcontaining: enclosure having an opening therein,- ;.an-

ink distributing device positioned within said :enclosure and mountedfor rotatable zmovement .to'control the-'movement-of ink to the .openingof: saidenclosure, .anda rotatable inking-member mounted itoxcontactwith a face-f positioned ,toreceive-,-inkg atzsaid ,opening, means toeffect a;driving ponnection between said shaft means.and.gthegspooL-npom-which the ribbon is being wound, and means to efieota-gdriving connection between-saidshaft means and the aforesaidrotatable 1 e l ements-;iof-, ;said ribbon inking mechanism.

18. ;In a typing,;mechanismemploying an ink carrying.iribbonnforprinting characters upon a surface, a. frame-for;saichmechanism, spoolssupported. in spaced'rel ationbetween which said :ribbon is.transferred; .during-ioperation of said mechanism,1rotatablesupporting'means for said spools supported by'saidfrarne; afirst shafthaving a gearmounted thereorr;.-which; is driven during the operation:of-. said-;- mechanism,; a. ribbon inking mechanism comprising nn inkcontaining enclosure having arnopeningtherein, .anink distributingdevice positionediwithin said enclosure and mountedupon a seoondshaft:forrotatable movement to control the supply of ink to the opening ofsaid enclosure; a;wgear:secured.to:said second shaft -positioned'ain-imeshing;.relation with the gear on said firstshaft; a rotatable inkingmember mountedtorcontactiwith; a face of said ribbon as,it.istransferredxbetweenspools and positioned to. receive .ink suppliedzztosaidopening, means toefiect a drivingeonnection between said gear on-thefirst shaft and thespool upon which said ribbon-:is :beingmwound, and;gear means for effecting a;driv ng;iconnectionabetween said inkdistributing: device .and said; rotatable inking member.

- :19. In a typingvmechanism; employing an ink carrying =ri-bbon .fon.printing; characters upon a surface, aframeforisaidzmechanism, spoolssupported.inuspaced. relation; between which said .ribbonis;transferredd11ring.;operation of the said mechanism-,-rotatablesupporting means forsaid spools supported-.-Joyy-wsaidsframe,.a shaft driven .ingofsaidenclosu-ra means ,to I effect a driving connectionbetween'saidshaftxand: said ink 1 distributing. device, a;.-- rotatable- "inking member.mountedto: contact -with'at1face.of the ribbon during-1 its transfermetween spools: and positioned :to receive: inkat saidppening, and.means .to effecta1-.;dr iving connectiongcbetween said ink distributingdevice and; ,saidrotatable inking member.

ing a gear moungiied thereoniwhich is. driven during the operationofqsaid :mechanism; a ribbon inking-mechanism com-prisingan vinkcontaining enclosure having-Jan, openin therein, an ink distributing'device position ed within said enclosure and mounted. upon. asecond-shaft for rotatable movement .to: supplyink to, the openingofsaid enclosure, a gea sec'u r.ed to ,s aid second shaft.upomwhich-said nk distributing device is mountedtand positionedjnin'eshing rolation with said gear on-isaiduii-rstshaft aro'tatableinking member mountedito icontactwith ar ceof--.said=rib said r-ibbonas'itiisrtransferredbetween spools and 7 L-b0nias'it is.transfernedbetweenspools and-posi- 19 tioned to receive ink supplied to saidopening, and means to effect a driving connection between said inkdistributing device and said rotatable inking member.

21. In a typing mechanism for printing characters upon a surfaceemploying an ink carrying ribbon, spools mounted on said mechanism inspaced relation between which said ribbon s transferred, shaft meansdriven during operation of said typing mechanism, an ink containingenclosure having an opening therein, an ink distributing devicepositioned Within said enclosure and mounted for rotatable movement tocontrol the amount of ink supplied to the opening of said enclosure, arotatable inking member mounted to contact with a face of said ribbon asit is transferred between spools and positioned to receive ink suppliedto said opening, and means to effect a positive driving connectionbetween said shaft means and said ink distributing device.

22. In a typing mechanism employing an ink carrying ribbon for printingcharacters upon a surface, a frame for said mechanism, spools supportedin spaced relation between which said ribbon is transferred duringoperation of said mechanism, rotatable supporting means for said spoolssupported by said frame, a ribbon inking mechanism comprising, an inkcontaining enclosure having an opening therein, an ink distributingdevice positioned within said enclosure and mounted upon a first shaftfor rotatable movement to control the ink supplied to the opening ofsaid enclosure, a gear mounted upon said first shaft, a rotatable inkingmember mounted to contact with a face of the ribbon as it is transferredbetween spools and positioned to receive ink supplied to said opening insaid enclosure, supporting means for said rotatable inking membercomprising a second shaft which is driven during the operation of saidmechanism, and means for effecting a driving connection between saidsecond shaft and the gear mounted upon said first shaft.

23. In a typing mechanism employing an ink carrying ribbon for printingcharacters upon a surface, first and second spools supported in spacedrelation between which said ribbon is transferred during operation ofsaid mechanism, spindles for supporting each of said spools, pivotedsupporting members for said spindles, shaft means driven during theoperation of said typing mechanism, coupling means for effecting adriving connection between said shaft means and a first spool upon whichsaid ribbon is being wound, and means for moving said pivoted supportingmember to shift the position of the spindle and first spool when theribbon unwinds from said spool thereby disengaging said coupling means.

24. In a typing mechanism employing an ink carrying ribbon for printingcharacters upon a surface, a frame for said mechanism, spools supportedin spaced relation between which said ribbon is transferred duringoperation of said mechanism, rotatable supporting means for each of saidspools supported by said frame, shaft means driven during the operationof said typing mechanism, coupling means for effecting a drivingconnection between said shaft and one of said spools, means forselectively disengaging said coupling means, a ribbon inking mechanismcomprising an ink containing enclosure having an opening therein, an inkdistributing device positioned within said enclosure and mounted forrotatable movement to control the amount of ink supplied to the openingof said enclosure, a rotatable inking member mounted to contact with aface of said ribbon as it is transferred between spools and positionedto receive ink supplied to said opening, and means to effect a drivingconnection between said shaft means and the aforesaid rotatable elementsof said ribbon inking mechanism.

25. In a typing mechanism employing an ink carrying ribbon for printingcharacters upon a surface, a frame for said mechanism, a first andsecond spool supported in spaced relation between which said ribbon istransferred during operation of said mechanism, spindles for supportingeach of said spools, pivoted supporting members for said spindles, shaftmeans driven during the operation of said typing mechanism, couplingmeans for effecting a driving connection between said shaft means and afirst spool upon which said ribbon is being wound, means for moving saidpivoted supporting member to shift the position of the spindle and firstspool when the ribbon unwinds from said spool thereby disengaging saidcoupling means, a ribbon inking mechanism comprising an ink containingenclosure having an opening therein, an ink distributing devicepositioned within said enclosure and mounted for rotatable movement tocontrol the amount of ink supplied to the opening of said enclosure, arotatable inking member mounted to contact with a face of said ribbon asit is transferred between spools and positioned to receive ink suppliedto said opening, and means to effect a driving connection between saidshaft means and the aforesaid rotatable elements of said ribbon inkingmechanism.

26. In a typing mechanism employing an ink carrying ribbon for printingcharacters upon a surface, a frame for said mechanism, spools supportedin spaced relation between which said ribbon is transferred duringoperation of said mechanism, rotatable supporting means for each of saidspools supported by said frame, shaft means driven during the operationof said typing mechanism, coupling means for effecting a. drivingconnection between said shaft and one of said spools, means forselectively disengaging said coupling means, a ribbon inking mechanismcomprising an ink containing enclosure having an opening therein, an inkdistributing device positioned within said enclosure and mounted forrotatable movement to control the amount of ink supplied to the openingof said enclosure, a rotatable inking member mounted to be rotated byfrictional contact with a face of said ribbon as it is transferredbetween spools and positioned to receive ink supplied to said opening,and means to effect a driving connection between said rotatable inkingmember and said ink distributing device. I

27. In a typing mechanism employing an ink carrying ribbon for printingcharacters upon a surface, a frame for said mechanism, spools supportedin spaced relation between which said ribbon is transferred duringoperation of said mechanism, rotatable supporting means for each of saidspools supported by said frame, shaft means driven during the operationof said typing mechanism, coupling means for effecting a drivingconnection between said shaft and one of said spools, a ribbon inkingmechanism comprising an ink containing enclosure having an openingtherein, an ink distributing device positioned within said enclosure andmounted for rotatable movement to control the amount of ink supplied 21to the opening of said enclosure, a rotatable inking member mounted tobe rotated by frictional Contact with a face of said ribbon as it istransferred between spools and positioned to receive ink supplied tosaid opening, and means to effect a driving connection between saidrotatable inking member and said ink distributing device.

28. In a typing mechanism for printing characters upon a surfaceemploying an ink carrying ribbon, the combination comprising, means formoving said ribbon through the typing position during operation of saidmechanism comprising spools mounted in spaced relation between whichsaid ribbon is transferred, an inking means for said ribbon comprisingan ink containing enclosure having an opening therein, a rotatable inkdistributing device positioned within said en-,

closur having a circular configuration and provided with element-sprojecting from the perimeter thereof, said device mounted to controlthe movement of ink from said enclosure and to said opening, a rotatableinking member substantially spherical in shape mounted to contact with aface of said ribbon as it is transferred between spools and positionedto receive ink at said opening, and means to effect a driving connectionbetween said ink distributing device and said inking member.

29. In a typing mechanism for printing characters upon a surfaceemploying an ink carrying ribbon, the combination comprising, means formoving said ribbon through the typing position during operation of saidmechanism comprising spools mounted in spaced relation between whichsaid ribbon is transferred, and inking means for said ribbon comprisinga reservoir for ink, a housing. in fluid communication with saidreservoir, said housing having an opening therein, a threaded rollerrotatably mounted within said housing for controlling the movement ofsaid ink from said reservoir to said opening, a rotatable inking memberhaving a surface thereof in contact with said ribbon mounted to receiveink at said opening and to transfer it to said ribbon, as it is movedbetween spools, and means effecting a driving connection between saidthreaded roller and said rotatable inking member.

GEORGE ERNEST PELTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,475,619 Barney Nov. 27, 19232,074,969 Pelton Mar. 23, 1937 2,104,469 Pelton et a1. Jan. 4, 19382,158,944 Pelton May 16, 1939 2,322,737 Pelton June 22, 1943

